Config Forms

A plugin declares config_model (a pydantic model). The WebUI makes a form from it in Settings → Plugins. The plugin author does not write frontend code.

from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
from ab_sdk import Plugin, secret_field

class Options(BaseModel):
    endpoint: str = Field("https://push.example.com", title="Endpoint")
    key: str = secret_field(description="Push key")
    retries: int = Field(3, ge=0, le=10, title="Retries")

class MyPlugin(Plugin[Options]):
    config_model = Options

Field types

Python type	Form control
str	Text box
str declared with secret_field()	Password box
int / float	Number box (int is rounded after input)
bool	Switch
Literal[...] / Enum	Drop-down list
list[str]	Tag input
list[<BaseModel>]	Object array: one group of sub-fields per row; the user can add and delete rows
Other types (dict, nested object)	Shown as "unsupported field". Edit config.json directly

Field(title=..., description=...) becomes the label and the help text. Optional[T] renders as T. The default value fills fields that the user did not save.

Validation

• AB validates with the model when the user saves. An invalid value gets HTTP 422 and AB does not write it.
• Use a field_validator for deep checks. For example, the built-in rename plugin renders the template one time when the user saves. A wrong template is refused at once.
• A required field with no default is missing at first enable. The plugin goes to the error state. When the user fills the field and saves, the plugin recovers.
• A disabled plugin also shows its form. AB imports the code of a trusted plugin and reads only config_model. It does not call setup. A local plugin that is not allowed yet (unsigned and "Allow unsigned plugins" is off) runs no code, so it has no form.

Secret fields

secret_field() declares passwords, tokens, Cookies and similar values.

• The WebUI shows a password box.
• The read API returns only a mask. The browser never gets the real value.
• When a save contains the mask, AB keeps the old value. Masking also works in nested structures, including secret fields in object-array rows. If the row count changed and AB cannot match a row, AB clears that secret field and the user must enter it again.

AB stores the configuration in config.json at plugins.options.<plugin id>. The enable switch is at plugins.enabled.<plugin id>.

UI beyond forms

When a form is not enough (charts, action buttons, lists), a plugin can provide a frontend component. See Frontend slots. The "backfill" button of the built-in hardlink plugin is a settings.section component.